Chapter 17
Sera
A Few Days Later…
My eyes feel heavy. It’s that deep-slumber sensation. The one that makes movement difficult upon waking. An indicator of a good, long night of rest.
When did I fall asleep? I wonder, my mental voice slow and dreamlike. Mmm, and what is that amazing scent?
I inhale deeply, then sigh.
It’s a winter morning. I can feel it in every ounce of my being. Only there’s a hint of cotton freshness, too.
My bedding, I realize.
Except, there’s a note of smoke in the air. Not an intense, terrifying kind, though. Which is strange. All smoke should inspire fear. But this smoky tendril is twined with leather.
My nose scrunches as I try to determine where I am.
Shouldn’t I be more concerned or panicked?
Mmm, no, I think in the next breath. Definitely not.
Because I’m surrounded by masculine warmth.
Not… not directly, though. More like an imprint left behind by their presence.
My brow furrows, and my eyes slit open to survey the black and gold sheets surrounding me. The colors seem slightly different from before. Like maybe someone changed the bedding.
Why? I wonder, taking in the otherwise familiar surroundings of the cabin bedroom.
Dark decor. Death etched into the walls. Frozen flowers. Deep blue tones mingling with obsidian rock.
I stretch and roll in the silk, only to discover that some of it is attached to me.
A robe.
Ohhh, that’s the source of the gold.
Wow, I must have slept for a long time.
I feel almost dizzy from oversleeping. Except, I also feel extremely rested. Like, better than ever.
Sighing, I go to my knees to take in the bed again. The sheets definitely were not changed, I realize now. For some delirious reason, that pleases me. I like the scents here.
It’s like enjoying a bonfire on a crisp winter morning while wearing something decadent and silky.
Oddly specific, I suppose.
But the combination of aromas pleases me. And I’m not in the mood to question my preferences.
Instead, I analyze the massive bed. It’s… it’s beautiful. Which is a strange thing to notice, but I can’t help feeling enamored with the shape and size of the space.
Going to my knees, I also admire the posts decorating each corner.
There are skulls etched into the black wood, along with more timeless fire lilies. Timeless because they’re forever frozen in a blooming position.
The only missing quality is the floral scent, a fact that nearly makes me sigh.
However, I distract myself by examining the mattress and the sheets and the…
I frown. “We need more pillows.” I utter the words aloud even though I’m the only one in the room. “We need another comforter, too. A charcoal one. Like smoke.”
All the items appear around me in a flourish of magic, causing my eyes to widen as I scan the room for the source of the gifts.
But I’m alone.
It’s the manifestation enchantment, I realize, my lips curling.
“More pillows,” I say. “All silky decadence, like Morpheus.”
The pillows that appear are gold, not black.
“Now a few that have a leathery cologne but a smoky texture,” I murmur.
A bundle forms beside me, deepening my smile.
“How about some scarves for wintry mornings?” I suggest. “But wrap them around the poles.”
The magic does what I ask, the strands a pretty black color edged in gold and silver frays.
“Perfect.” This decorating game is fun.
However, now I need to figure out where all the pillows are going to go. The comforter is easy since it goes in the center of the bed—obviously.
Hmm, but the other items need to be strategically placed.
Remaining on my knees, I crawl around the bed and follow my instincts—which seem to be tied to my nose because I keep inhaling the mingling scents and deciding where things go based on how they smell.
By the time I’m done, I’ve created a pillowy haven of amazingness that I never want to leave.
But my stomach has other ideas.
“How are you already rumbling?” I mutter, irritated. “Hades fed us a lot of food just… just…” My brow furrows. “Last night?”
“Three nights ago,” a deep voice says softly, causing my gaze to jump up to where Hades is standing beside one of the posts. His assessing gaze is on the scarves, causing my cheeks to heat.
I just… I just redecorated his bed.
Oh, thorns.
What if he hates it?
Was I even allowed to do this?
“I…” I trail off, an apology lingering on my tongue that refuses to escape me.
But I should say “Sorry,” right? He built this place for Persephone, not me. And I basically defiled the bed he planned to knot her in.
Except… except she would have hated this place. My brow furrows. I already knew she would dislike it here—Hades mentioned it—but now I understand how she would feel because I can see her memories.
“This place would have tortured Persephone,” I whisper, my heart breaking a little on her behalf.
Hades’s dark eyes find mine. “I know.”
“You wanted to hurt her…” I can’t finish the statement, the sudden understanding stirring a convoluted mix of emotions inside me. Sadness. Fear. Anger.
“I thought she used me to destroy Omega kind,” he says, sounding more broken than defensive. “It’s yet another failure on my part as her Alpha. I see that now, but I can’t change the past. I can only learn from my mistakes and try to do better.”
The anger inside me simmers as I consider his words. I want to demand that he explain how he could think so poorly of Persephone’s intentions. He was her mate. He should have known her better.
Only… only as I learn more about her and her bond with Hades, I realize it… it wasn’t as deep as it should have been.
They rarely spoke to each other.
I mean, they… they talked every day, but they rarely engaged in deep conversations. Just about Hades satisfying Persephone’s needs and doting on her.
However, she never really opened up to him. There simply hadn’t been a need to because she trusted him implicitly.
Demeter also taught her that a good Omega doesn’t burden an Alpha with concerns.
A manipulation, I register now. A way to control her daughter and ensure she didn’t confide too much to Hades.
He should have pried more, asked questions, something.
Only, how could he have known it was needed when Persephone didn’t give him any indication of her inner struggles?
“Serapina.” Hades voices my name with a hint of regret. “I could apologize for a century, and it still won’t right the sins of my past. All I can do is promise to do right by you going forward.”
“I know,” I tell him quietly, still processing everything I’ve come to understand over the last few minutes about his relationship with Persephone. “We need to ensure that we talk to each other, Hades. Always. No matter what.”
He slips his hands into his pressed slacks, his forearms—revealed by the rolled sleeves of his black dress shirt—flexing with the movement. “What would you like to discuss?”
“Everything,” I say, not bothering to ponder what that means. I just need him to understand that we can’t experience the same downfall. “There will be no secrets between us.”
He stares at me, his dark brow drawing downward. “You think I’m hiding something from you?”
I shake my head. “No, that’s not what I’m trying to say. I just want us to be open with each other. Share our burdens. Our worries. Every detail. So we don’t make the same mistakes…”
Understanding seems to cross his features. “The same mistakes as I made with Persephone.”
“As you made with each other,” I correct him. “She should have told you more about Demeter, but she was taught not to.” My nose scrunches. “Kind of like how I was raised not to speak out against authority and to just accept my fate with the monsters, should I be chosen as a bride.”
He studies me. “Demeter taught her not to talk to me?”
I consider the statement and nod, then shake my head. “Not with you specifically, but all Alphas.” I go on to explain how she was instructed to be meek and sweet and quiet.
Just like me in the Nightingale Village.
Hades listens as I tell him about my experiences, how the Nightingale Viscount essentially groomed all the humans to worship monsterkind.
“Alina and I were taught to bow and accept our place in the world.” Which ended in me being chosen for Monsters Night and taken to a mystical garden in some alternate reality.
Meanwhile, Alina rebelled.
And met her mate-circle as a result.
Now, I’m here with my own mate-circle, too. “There are benefits to breaking the mold,” I conclude quietly, my cheeks heating again.
“There are benefits to being who you want to be,” Hades replies, his arms moving to cross against his chest as he leans on the bedpost. “It’s not about rebellion so much as finding yourself.
You’re a strong woman, Serapina. You may feel that’s a new trait, one you’ve been trying to master, but the truth is, you’ve always been this way. ”
I frown at him. “If you knew me in my home world, you wouldn’t be saying that.”
“The fact that you survived that world with your mind intact only proves my point, Serapina. That you were taken to the Netherworld Kingdom and so quickly acclimated to a brand-new dimension of possibilities serves to further that point. And the mere desire to live alone in the village, to find yourself, punctuates the point.”
“But Persephone did the same by living in your underworld.”
“Part-time,” he replies. “She couldn’t remain there indefinitely. She had to visit her mother because at no point was she ever truly separated from Demeter. Never independent enough to make her own choices. Never strong enough to voice her wants and needs.”
He straightens again, his arms falling to his sides.
“I don’t say all that to tarnish her memory. I love Persephone with all my being, and I accept blame for not recognizing what she truly needed until now. But fate has given our souls a second chance. And I won’t let myself make the same mistake twice. Not with you, Serapina.”
His words sound like a vow, one that’s underscored by his intense gaze.
I swallow, unsure of how to respond.